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CSRQ Reports on Elementary School Programs will be released in spring 2005.
This section presents the CSRQ Center guidelines for selecting comprehensive school reform (CSR) programs to be included in CSRQ Reports on Elementary School Programs. This process was designed to scientifically and systematically select 20-25 elementary school CSR programs to be reviewed. This process included four steps:
A comprehensive list of programs was developed from the SEDL database of CSR programs. SEDL provides the only current database tracking the implementation of CSR programs, and therefore represents the most accurate estimate of CSR program adoption available. From this database, CSR programs that exclusively serve middle and high school student populations (grades 7-12) were eliminated. That is, the revised CSR program list only included programs that served elementary school grades K-6. Also excluded from this initial list were all Education Management Organizations (EMO), which are non-profit or for-profit entities that provide administration and management structures for entire schools. The CSRQ Center will review EMOs in a separate set of reviews that will be released in fall 2005.
In the second phase, seven criteria were established based on the U.S. Department of Education's list of 11 CSR components. The goal of this phase was to narrow the list of programs to be reviewed to those programs that were more "comprehensive" in design. To cast a wide net, reviewers loosely defined criteria to include: Governance, Technical Assistance, Classroom Practices, Professional Development, Leadership Development, Benchmark/Assessment, and Curriculum.
. Governance was defined as operations and management conducted in schools. Key words associated with governance were operations, structure, management, scheduling, committees, blocks, and administration.
. Technical Assistance was defined as classroom operational or management assistance through mentoring, coaching, or other services provided to teachers. Key words associated with TA were troubleshooting, coaching, and mentoring.
. Classroom Practice was defined as pedagogical, structure, and behavioral management practices that a teacher enacts in a classroom. Key words associated with CP were pedagogy, classroom management, classroom structure, teaching strategies, and philosophy of instruction.
. Professional Development was defined as teacher training on a specific topic. This training typically occurs in a workshop or conference environment. Key words associated with PD were training (on specific topic), conferences, and workshops.
. Leadership Development was defined as administrative training or development for school personnel in leadership positions. Key words associated with LD were leadership training and/or development (principals, grade level chairs, and lead teachers).
. Benchmarks/Assessment was defined as tests and evaluations used to measure students' skills and understanding and academic progress. Key words associated with Benchmarks/Assessment were measurable goals, formative evaluation, and benchmarks of progress.
. Curriculum was defined as the scope and sequence of learning objectives and indicators, as well as material provided for lessons to instruct such objectives. Key words associated with curriculum were materials, scope and sequence, standards, and learning objectives.
For each CSR program, reviewers used these key words or concepts to identify the presence of the seven "comprehensiveness" criteria. Each CSR program was assigned one point for each criterion that the program appeared to meet. The resources used to determine criterion met in each program included (but were not limited to) each program's website, An Educators' Guide to Schoolwide Reform (Herman, et al., 1999), Show Me the Evidence (Slavin and Fashola, 1998), U.S. Department of Education, SEDL, Appalachia Educational Laboratory (AEL), and Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory's Catalog of School Reform Models (NWREL).
In the third step of the program selection process, a tentative list of comprehensive CSR programs was generated based on the seven comprehensiveness criteria. That is, CSR programs that did not appear to meet at least five of the seven criteria were excluded from the final list of CSR programs.
In the fourth phase, CSR programs were reviewed based on the number of elementary schools using the program, funded by CSR grants. The goal of this step was to review CSR programs that had been widely replicated and that captured the largest "market share" (i.e., programs that were implemented in the highest number of schools). Those programs that had been implemented in more than 3 states and in 20 or more CSR funded elementary schools since 1998 were selected for review in the final report. This information was gleaned from the SEDL database. The final list comprised of 23 elementary school CSR programs.
Note: We also realize that some education decision makers may be interested in CSR programs, including new or smaller programs, that have not yet been reviewed by the CSRQ Center Reports. Thus, the CSRQ Center will make a nonevaluative CSR Program Registry available so that program developers have the opportunity to share their own information about programs not included in the CSRQ Center Reports. For more information about the Program Registry, click here.
